Reward
How the brain prepares for gains and losses using EEG and fMRI
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
The brain's anticipation of winning or losing money relies on a shared motivational system rather than separate reward and loss networks.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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The same regional response accompanied anticipating a loss as anticipating a gain.
Ventral striatal responses are not specific to reward. Gain and loss anticipation triggered similar ventral striatum activity and similar reaction times, and larger P300 amplitudes correlated with stronger ventral striatal BOLD for both (r = 0.420 to 0.767).
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Whether these striatal signals encode value or surprise is not resolved here. Gain and loss anticipation produced comparable ventral striatal responses, and the anterior ventral striatum responded to unexpected punishment as well as unexpected reward — both consistent with a surprise account — while the posterior dorsal striatum's reward-only response is not.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Fluctuations in the amplitude of the P300 wave during reward and loss anticipation are significantly correlated with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses in the ventral striatum, indicating that cortical attention markers reflect subcortical motivational states.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
Whether these striatal signals encode value or surprise is not resolved here. Gain and loss anticipation produced comparable ventral striatal responses, and the anterior ventral striatum responded to unexpected punishment as well as unexpected reward — both consistent with a surprise account — while the posterior dorsal striatum's reward-only response is not.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Human experiment — Simultaneous or paired EEG P300 and ventral-striatum BOLD
- N
- N=25 · 29 volunteers; 4 dropped for scanning problems; 13 women; mean age 23.8
- Population
- Healthy right-handed young adults
- Outcome
- Trial-wise relation of P300 amplitude to ventral-striatum BOLD
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Inspect source passages
How the brain prepares for gains and losses using EEG and fMRI
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
What are the two temporally distinct stages of reward processing discussed in this study?
Reward processing is mainly characterised by two temporally distinct stages — an appetitive (i.e., preparatory or anticipatory) phase is followed by a consummatory phase ().
According to the anticipatory affect model, how do positive and negative anticipation shape behavior?
The anticipatory affect model () suggests that the anticipation of positive stimuli leads to positive arousal which in turn promotes approach behaviour, whereas the anticipation of negative stimuli leads to negative arousal promoting avoidance behaviour.
Key findings
Both gain and loss anticipation triggered similar activity in the ventral striatum and produced similar reaction times. Larger P300 wave amplitudes were significantly correlated with stronger BOLD responses in the ventral striatum for both gain and loss conditions, with correlations ranging from 0.420 to 0.767. In contrast, the slower CNV wave did not show any significant correlation with ventral striatum activity.
Methodology
The researchers tested 25 healthy, right-handed participants across separate EEG and fMRI sessions separated by an average of 50 days. During both sessions, participants completed a task where they saw visual cues signaling a potential gain of 2 euros, a potential loss of 2 euros, or a neutral outcome of 0 euros before responding quickly to a target. The team measured electrical brain responses (such as P300 and CNV waves) and BOLD signals in the ventral striatum to analyze how they relate.
Limitations
First, because EEG and fMRI data were collected in separate sessions rather than simultaneously, the study cannot rule out differences in the participants' mood or alertness between the separate test days. Second, because the study only measured blood flow and electrical scalp activity, it cannot provide direct evidence of dopamine release, even though the authors suspect dopaminergic pathways are involved. Finally, the small sample of 25 young, healthy participants restricts the generalizability of these findings to clinical populations.
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